ARAPAHOE SHOOTING: WHO WAS KARL PIERSON?

Yesterday morning Karl Pierson ran into Arapahoe, CO high school where he was an excellent student and began shooting before an armed guard stopped him cold in less that 1 minute, 20 seconds leaving many to ask if we need armed guards in all schools.

Do we have any clues yet as to why this young man would have done what he did yesterday in taking a gun, machete and two suspected Molotov cocktails with him to school Friday, December 13, and opening fire, seriously injuring a female classmate who was apparently just in the wrong place at the wrong time, before taking his own life?

First of all we do know his parents had filed for divorce in 2011 and the divorce was finalized just over a year ago in August of 2012. We do not know if he had therapy for this in which he was prescribed an antidepressant which could have contributed to his violent behavior and suicidal behavior, both adverse drug reactions known to double in this age group if given an antidepressant. Increasing serotonin – the mode of action of antidepressants – has LONG been known to produce impulsive murder and suicide http://www.drugawareness.org/fda-testimony/dr-ann-blake-tracys-september-13-2004-to-the-fda . Anyone familiar with that research would not be surprised in the least to learn that 68 out of the 70 school violence incidents investigated thus far have found a perpetrator on an antidepressant: http://www.drugawareness.org/ssri-nightmares/school-shootings/

Other than the parent’s divorce and him being disaplined recently by his debate coach, who he targeted in this shooting, there is little to indicate that Karl Pierson would have ever taken the steps he took yesterday of running into his school armed to do extensive harm. “Pierson’s parents divorced in late 2011, according to court records. The divorce was finalized in August 2012.”

“Karl Pierson was a bright student and enthusiastic high school debater who got into trouble with his debate coach.”

Known as a gifted debator he participated in national finals this past summer…”
neighbors were in shock … Pierson was a dedicated, bright student from a religious family that attends Bible study meetings…They’re just a normal middle-class family, like many of the families around here,” said neighbor Diane Shea.”

“Carl Schmidt and Brendon Mendelson, both seniors at Arapahoe High, knew Pierson. They said he had political views that were “outside the mainstream,” but they did not elaborate.

“Schmidt said the shooter “was an outspoken kid about what he believed and a good political thinker.”

“Mendelson added, “He did have a lot of friends. He was popular with the people he knew.”

But we also know this: “A bright student who voiced strong opinions in class and on the debate team (especially about gun rights), dividing his time between divorced parents, some suggestions that he might have been bullied now and then, a run-in with a teacher who had ordered him suspended when the student threatened the man.”

So….violent behavior had been demonstrated before this in a run-in with this teacher. Yet those who knew him best describe him as someone who would not be expected to act upon any such threat or take revenge.

“I had class with him and knew he was very outspoken and willing to contribute, and also that he had a controlled temper he would use during discussion,” Carl Schmidt, a fellow senior, told the Los Angeles Times.

“A lot of people picked on him, but it didn’t seem to bother him,” Thomas Conrad, who had an economics class with Pierson, told the Denver Post.

“High school senior Frank Woronoff told CNN he had known Pierson since they were freshmen together.

“He was the last person I would expect to shoot up a high school. He was honestly incredibly humble and down to earth. He was a little geeky but in a charming way,” he said.”

But there may have been some disappointment in not being able to progress further in the national debate competition this past summer and certainly disappointment in being taken off the debate team. Was there someone there ready to medicate his troubles away when he was only miles from Columbine where not quite one and a half decades ago an entire community had their troubles medicated away with funds donated to the victims of Columbine High? Most likely there were many ready to do exactly that.

WITHDRAWAL WARNING: In sharing this information about adverse reactions to antidepressants I always recommend that you also give reference to my CD on safe withdrawal, “Help! I Can’t Get Off My Antidepressant!”, so that we do not have more people dropping off these drugs too quickly – a move which I have warned from the beginning can be even more dangerous than staying on the drugs!

The FDA also now warns that any abrupt change in dose of an antidepressant can produce suicide, hostility or psychosis. These reactions can either come on very rapidly or even be delayed for months depending upon the adverse effects upon sleep patterns when the withdrawal is rapid! You can find the hour and a half long CD on safe and effective withdrawal helps here:http://store.drugawareness.org/

She has specialized since 1990 in adverse reactions to serotonergic medications (such as Prozac, Sarafem, Zoloft, Paxil, Luvox, Celexa, Lexapro, Effexor, Serzone, Remeron, Anafranil, Fen-Phen, Redux and Meridia as well as the new atypical antipsychotics Zyprexa, Geodon, Seroquel and Abilify), as well as pain killers, and has testified before the FDA and congressional subcommittee members on antidepressants.

WITHDRAWAL WARNING: In sharing this information about adverse reactions to antidepressants I always recommend that you also give reference to my CD on safe withdrawal, Help! I Can’t Get Off My Antidepressant!, so that we do not have more people dropping off these drugs too quickly – a move which I have warned from the beginning can be even more dangerous than staying on the drugs!

WITHDRAWAL HELP: You can find the hour and a half long CD on safe and effective withdrawal helps here: store.drugawareness.org And if you need additional consultations with Ann Blake-Tracy, you can book one at www.drugawareness.org or sign up for one of the memberships for the International Coalition for Drug Awareness which includes free consultations as one of the benefits of that particular membership plan. You can even get a whole month of access to the withdrawal CD with tips on rebuilding after the meds, all six of my DVDs, hundreds of radio interviews, lectures, TV interviews I have done over the years PLUS my book on antidepressants with more information than you will find anywhere else for only $30 membership for a month (that is only $5 more than the book alone would cost) at www.drugawareness.org. (Definitely the best option to save outrageous postage charges for those out of the country!)

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